How to Make a Difference with Internship Reports (+ Samples)

Internships provide students with an opportunity to gain work experience in their chosen field and to develop professional skills.  

When you finish your internship, one of the things you’ll probably need to do is to write an internship report. It sums up everything you did during your internship. Whether you’re required to submit one or not, writing an internship report is a good idea.

For a start, employers can use internship reports to get insight into how their internship program is working and to identify areas for improvement.

If you decide to share your experience, it will be a valuable asset for future students or professionals who are looking to do an internship.

Most importantly, the process of writing a report can help you to crystallize your thoughts and reflect on the internship experience. Moreover, it will come in handy for you when you need to write a resume and detail the skills and achievements you’ve gained and reached during your internship.

 In this article, we'll provide tips on how to write a good internship report and give examples of different types of reports. Let's get started!

If you're interning, you might be wondering what an internship report is and why you should bother writing one. 

Essentially, an internship report is a document that summarizes your internship experience. It can take many different forms, but most internship reports will include information about your responsibilities, what you learned, and how the internship has helped you develop professionally. 

There are many different formats for internship reports, so it's important to check with your employer to see what they expect. However, most internship reports will generally follow a similar structure. 

Let's talk about the most common types of internship reports:

📝 internship logbook

What is an internship logbook?

An internship logbook is a daily or weekly record of your internship experience. It's a way to document your activities, reflect on your learning, and communicate with your supervisor.

Purpose: It can be used to track your hours, tasks and responsibilities, and help you reflect on your progress and learning. 

Format: This type of internship report usually takes the form of a journal or diary.

📝 internship weekly report

What is an internship weekly report?

An internship weekly report is a summary of your activities and accomplishments for the week. It's a way to keep your supervisor updated on your progress and to reflect on your learning.

Purpose: Weekly reports are a way to communicate with your supervisor, reflect on your learning, and set goals for the remainder of your internship.

Format:  Weekly reports are typically brief (one to two pages) and can be emailed or presented in person.

📝 internship project report

What is an internship project report?

An internship project report is a more in-depth document that focuses on a specific project or task that you worked on during your internship. It's a way to document your work, reflect on your learning, and show your employer what you accomplished.

Purpose: Aside from documenting the details of the project that you worked on and what you learned, internship project reports can also be used to demonstrate your skills and abilities to potential employers in the future.

Format: Internship project reports can vary in length depending on the scope of the project and your responsibilities, but they are typically longer than other types of internship reports (five to ten pages).

📝 internship final report

What is an internship final report?

An internship final report is a comprehensive document that summarizes your entire internship experience. It's a way to reflect on your time as an intern and demonstrate what you have learned.

Purpose: Internship final reports are typically used for assessment purposes by your employer. They can also be used as a tool for reflection, to help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, and to set goals for your future career.

Format: Internship final reports are very detailed and are typically longer than other types of internship reports (10 pages or more). They usually take the form of a research paper.

No matter the type of internship report, a full-length final report or a project report, you're working on, here are 6 steps to follow to ensure that your report is professional and well-written:

🖋 Start with a title page.

It is important to include a title page for your internship report because it will be the first page that your employer or supervisor sees, and this page helps them keep track of all the internship reports they have to read. The title page should include your name, the name of your internship employer, the dates of your internship, and the title of your report.

For a summer internship report, it may look like this:

🖋 Add special acknowledgements (optional).

The next step is to add special acknowledgments to your internship report, if you have any. For example, if you worked on a project with a team of people, you may want to thank them for their help. If you want to thank your supervisor for their guidance, you can do so here in your internship training report as well.

🖋 Create a table of contents.

Including a table of contents helps your employer or supervisor easily navigate your internship report. For example, a table of contents for an MBA internship report would list all of the sections and subsections of your report, as well as the page number where each section can be found. 

It may look like this:

🖋Provide information about the company.

In this section of the internship report, you will want to provide an overview of the company you interned with to help your employer or supervisor understand the context of your internship experience. This may include information about the company's history, mission, and values.

If you're working on an industrial training report, for example, you might want to include information about the company's products and services, as well as its market share.

🖋 Explain your role and responsibilities.

After you have given some background information on the company, you will want to explain your role and responsibilities during your internship. This may include a description of your daily tasks, as well as any special projects you worked on.

Let's say you've completed a summer internship program as an accounting student, in this part of your internship report, you could write something like this:

As an intern in the accounting department, my daily tasks included assisting with the month-end close process, preparing journal entries, and reconciling bank statements. I also had the opportunity to work on special projects, such as helping to implement a new accounting software system.

🖋 Reflect on skills you’ve acquired and things you’ve learned. 

This is arguably the most important section of your internship report because it shows your employer or supervisor what you have learned during your internship. In this section, you can reflect on the skills you have acquired and the knowledge you have gained.

If you've written weekly progress reports or work logs throughout your internship, you can refer back to these to help you write this section.

🖋 Write a conclusion.

The conclusion of your internship report is where you summarize your experience and reflect on what you have learned. This is also a good place to thank your employer or supervisor for the opportunity to intern with their company.

If you have any recommendations for the company, such as ways to improve the internship program, you can also include them in the conclusion of your report.

Now that you have an idea of how to structure your internship report, let's look at some tips on how to write an informative internship report.

✅ Add page numbers.

Structures and formats may vary from company to company, but in general, it is a good idea to add page numbers to your internship report along with the table of contents at the beginning. This will make it easier for your employer or supervisor to find the information they are looking for.

✅ Include proper citations.

If you use any sources outside of your personal experience to write your internship report, be sure to include proper citations. This may include websites, books, or articles you used as research.

✅ Include an appendix section.

If you have any photos, materials you produced, or proof of your achievements from your internship, be sure to include them in an appendix section at the end of your report. 

The appendix section of your internship report can include, but is not limited to, photos, materials you produce, proof of your achievements, etc. The visual presentation of your accomplishments helps your employer or supervisor to properly assess your ability and make them more likely to write a positive recommendation letter for you.

✅ Consider using visuals to illustrate your points.

If you have any data or statistics to include in your internship report, consider using graphs, charts, or images to illustrate your points. This will make your report more visually appealing and easier to understand.

✅ Edit and proofread your work.

Before you submit your internship report, be sure to edit and proofread your work. This will help to ensure that your report is clear and free of any errors. If possible, ask a friend or family member to read through your report as well.

--- Originally written by Candy Ho ---